It’s Spooky Season but Don’t be Spooked by Sugar! by Alexis Banks, RD, LDN
“That has too much sugar!”
“A couple more bites of dinner, and then you can have dessert.”
“Sugar is addictive, so don’t eat too much!”
“I’ll be bad today and have some dessert.”
“Sweets are so bad for you!”
Do any of these sound familiar?
These are just a couple of statements that hold judgment surrounding food. As the holiday season is approaching (starting with Halloween!) It is important to remember that all foods can fit into a healthy diet and we do not have to follow rigid rules around what we can and cannot eat.
As a dietitian working with clients who are struggling with eating disorders, I see so much fear around many sweet foods such as ice cream, brownies, cupcakes, and of course candy! Children (and adults of course) like sweets. In fact, human beings have a biological need for sugar! Sweets are perfectly natural for a child’s development, in fact, our brain's preferred fuel source is glucose (which is sugar!)
Yes, I am a registered dietitian who is telling you that it is ok if your children eat sugar!
Am I recommending that you serve sweets all day long? No, but I am also not recommending that you never serve them or eliminate them from your child’s diet.
The belief that we need to limit our sugar intake can be misunderstood. As we know, the food that we eat breaks down into energy for our body, and without proper energy this can affect our ability to live happy and healthy lives. When we learn that sugar is something that needs to be limited in our diets, we are disregarding our body’s needs. Yes, food influences our health, however, it is not the only thing that influences our health. We can be aware of nutrition while still working towards neutralizing all foods. The rebound effect of restricting sugar is that your children may feel strong urges to keep eating it as a result of deprivation, not as a result of eating some.
When foods with sugar (or any food for that matter!) are restricted in any way, they become “forbidden fruit” and your child may try to seek these foods out more often.
What does this look like to a child?
“I want more candy because I can only have candy when I finish my vegetables.”
This is teaching your child that they cannot listen to their body’s cues due to possibly eating past their comfortable fullness because they want the dessert AND the dessert then becomes something that they feel that they have to “earn”. This does not allow them to form a healthy relationship with sweets. Don’t use desserts as a reward, especially for eating other foods. When compromises are made around meals and snacks, this can lead to negative internal dialog, such as “I am not deserving of dessert because I did not finish the vegetables on my plate”. Honoring hunger and fullness as well as cravings for specific foods are key to building trust in your body.
So, how do we help kids regular their sugar intake?
Make sure that you are serving them all types of foods! When I tell my clients that this is the way to regulate themselves around certain foods, they typically give me a funny look and tell me that they feel if they allow themselves to eat those foods that they will never stop. However, this is untrue because as we learn to coexist with all foods, we start to neutralize all foods and no longer see things like sugar as a “treat” or “special.” We need to begin to recognize that these foods will always be available which will help to eliminate kids overindulging because they will no longer feel that they have to savor the moments they are allowed sweets.
Along with what I stated above, serving sweets with their meals can be helpful. Again, we want to look at all foods as neutral, and if it is on their plate with the rest of their meal, it does not become something that needs to be “earned,” it just becomes another food on their plate.
Take the labels off of foods! We do not speak about certain foods as good or bad, as this can lead to shame and judgment when we do eat these foods. All foods can fit into a healthy diet and as humans we are not “good” for eating vegetables and we are not “bad” for eating dessert. Food is just food! Food is something that we need to live, not something that we should feel shame for!
Evaluate your own relationship with food (and your beliefs about sugar)! When we as adults are less stressed around sugar and desserts, we model that for children as well.
We are all allowed to make our own choices in terms of our nutritional intake, however, I encourage you to become informed of what research shows regarding health outcomes from dieting and restriction, so that we do not continue to listen to fear-based nutrition messaging that we see all over the internet and social media.
We need to take the focus off of food - especially during the holidays!
We do not want to lose sight of creating memories with family and friends during the holidays. It can be freeing to take the focus off of food and focus on the other activities the season has to offer! The truth is, there are only two foods that I recommend that you avoid at all costs - food that you are allergic to, and foods that have gone bad or are moldy!
The most important thing to remember is that we need to practice emphasizing positive experiences with mealtimes. Adults and children alike deserve to maintain a positive association with food and mealtimes!
If you find yourself struggling, please reach out to Lotus Therapy Group at 708-552-7330.
